Teeny weeny speakers

[Pjr]

Evening all,

I'm on a roll, as they say, having today fixed:
- passenger door handle (plastic clip had broken)
- speedo (fitted a new one)
- electric door mirrors now functional (1 wire had fallen off of the joystick)

.....and I'm feeling great!

So the next job is to update the front speakers. I have read previous discussions about this but most people seem to have later cars with different speakers. Mine is an '83 model and has 10w speakers that are tiny. Does anyone know of a direct, but better, replacement please?

I'm keen to do this job, because the other jobs are door beams (I think I'll wait until the doors drop...) and interior lights that don't work on the delay setting (neither do the red door lights). Neither of those jobs seem very inviting.....

Happy motoring/tinkering,
Phil

[fueltheburn]

What size are the original speakers?
Pretty sure my 84 had the same size speakers as my 88.

[Pjr]

First, sorry to miss you at the show, but I did have a good look at your handiwork and she looked great!

These speakers are small, with tiny flush mesh grilles in the door card. Looking at the parts manual, I think the slightly later ones were either bigger, or mounted so they protruded beyond the door card. I would say that viewed from the rear the magnet is 3-4 cm diameter. They are not much bigger than a large modern tweeter.

I'm not looking at the parts manual at present, but I think it said 10w Eurotec speakers. I am kinda hoping someone had found a super Blaupunkt, alpine or similar substitute that packs a bit more into such a small speaker. If possible, I'd like to keep the door cards original.

Hopefully I'll get a few minutes tomorrow to whip off the door card and measure the speaker..

[richardw]

I'm pretty certain yours will be 5" speakers (they are on my 81 Elite). There are plenty on ebay if you search for 5 inch speakers. Depending on your sound system, the key thing to look at is the RMS rating which indicates the continuous load the speaker can sustain, as opposed to the peak load which is commonly quoted. I was looking at some JVC speakers on ebay which are rated at 250w each (peak) and 30w RMS but the spec looks pretty good with integrated woofers and tweeters etc (see http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JVC-500W-Tota ... 51ca96b3cb)

ATB Richard

[yroll]

I'm pretty certain yours will be 5" speakers (they are on my 81 Elite). There are plenty on ebay if you search for 5 inch speakers. Depending on your sound system, the key thing to look at is the RMS rating which indicates the continuous load the speaker can sustain, as opposed to the peak load which is commonly quoted. I was looking at some JVC speakers on ebay which are rated at 250w each (peak) and 30w RMS but the spec looks pretty good with integrated woofers and tweeters etc (see http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JVC-500W-Tota ... 51ca96b3cb)

ATB Richard

With this in mind don't forget that RMS is not a measurement of quality, within a brand you can compare RMS ratings but not entirely between brands

[Pjr]

Guys, many thanks for the advice. Those new speakers seem to be great value. I haven't had a chance to get the door card off today, but perhaps tomorrow I'll have a look.

[fueltheburn]

The above speakers are what is in Ethel. They are 4 inch.
I chose these based on the frequency response, RMS values, the packaging size and they were very good value. They are also 2 way speakers so do away with the separate tweeter.

Internet price from values I think was £40/ pair

Kind of pointless in Ethel as I haven't turned the radio on since first installing it

Btw- the mesh on the front saying slick is removable.

[Pjr]

Hi guys,

Just measured the speakers and they are essentially on a square backing plate and 3.5" or 9cm (ish) from one side to the other. By the look of it, they are the original fitment.

I've seen some alpine speakers on bay but they are on 20 rms, so seeing that you are getting 50 rms out of a 4" speaker, perhaps I need to look harder!

[amarshall]

50W rms is only relevant if your amplifier can produce that power.

[fueltheburn]

Original speakers in mine were 3.5". Holes were modified to fit the 4" speakers.
Mine is a modern radion with 4x50w output but as mentioned - it has a built in amplifier. Not sure what the original radio was capable of.